Laptop gurus, speak to me

[Onkel Neal]

Ok, this is as close as I can get, I think:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...at56670&topnav=

It's 13.3, has all the stuff, except XP (which I can load if I decide to, just reformat the HD, right?).

I have to confess, I do not know what to call the "card slot" where one jams in a cellular card to connect, what's that called? Does this unit have that?

Any drawbacks with this machine?? thanks for the help.


And this seems to be the same model number machine, with a different config...
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ct_id=10151262

Why do they do that? Each config should have a unique model number

But, it's a lot cheaper.

[DeepIron]

Looks like a capable unit. BUT... be forewarned... it could be problematic to load XP on... It may be possible with XP Pro but not with XP Home. I've run into issue trying to find device drivers for newer hardware so it's... maybe, maybe not.

The EEE 1394 is a Firewire interface, the 8 in 1 card reader will handle most memory media... the rest of the specs look fine. A good buy for the money IMO.

Hmm... the two are not the same... different processors... T5750 vs T2390... and different HD sizes...

[EDIT] I'd need to know the model and manufacturer of your cell card to be more helpful.

[Digital_Trucker]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

I have to confess, I do not know what to call the "card slot" where one jams in a cellular card to connect, what's that called?

A lot of the cellular cards are now USB, but the slot you are speaking of is the PCMCIA slot, I believe.

[DeepIron]

If your card uses a PCMCIA slot, I didn't see one in the specs of either unit. PCMCIA is an older tech... mostly replaced by USB anyway...

[Digital_Trucker]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

It's 13.3, has all the stuff, except XP (which I can load if I decide to, just reformat the HD, right?).

It being a Dell, I don't know if you'll be able to get XP drivers for it. I'd check their support site for the machine and make sure they even have XP drivers.

[lesrae]

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

Do not buy Dell. You will get propreitary parts that can only be updated by Dell and they will never update the drivers. I fought with them for 4 years and was always promised a driver update for an ATI card that couldn't use generic drivers - I never did get that update. In 5 years, they never updated one driver for that entire laptop and I spent $3000 on it.

-S

Fair enough, I've bought about 10 laptops and 20 PCs from them over the last 5 or 6 years and never had any snags - everyone has different experiences with companies.

[FIREWALL]

OK Neal I'm wise to what your up to.

Carry it on an airplane my behind.

You want to tote it on your scooter.

I've been looking for something like that myself.

I'll be rideing my Harley to your shindig and want to be connected.

Give TigerDirect a look see.

I found quite a few choices in the $500 to $700 area.

Still haven't made up my mind yet.

[nikimcbee]

Dell was fun to argue with, because they wouldn't let me have XP, only vista. Their business computers you can choose either, and I called them on it. It was a fun conversation because their call center is in India:rotfl: .

My gateway has an HD monitor and HD port! Can you say big screen HD TV!:hmm: I bought mine from bestbuy, on a side note. I was their newest computer model.

[nikimcbee]

Oh, and on a side note. Intel has totally rejected vista:rotfl: as a corperation. Now there's a vote of confidence.:rotfl:

[lesrae]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

Dell was fun to argue with, because they wouldn't let me have XP, only vista. Their business computers you can choose either, and I called them on it. It was a fun conversation because their call center is in India:rotfl: .

Yup, pretty much what I did :O)

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by lesrae

Yup, pretty much what I did :O)

I knew what they would say, I just made the call for fun.:rotfl:
"Hold on let me ask my manager."
"No, we can't do that."
"You can just have the vistas, not the XPs."

[Onkel Neal]

So, is there a lot of performance diff between these two? Is the faster one worth the extra $200 ?


Dell 1318 with Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5750 at 2.0GHz
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...at56670&topnav=



Dell 13.3" Inspiron 1318 Pacific Blue Laptop with Intel Pentium Dual Core T2390
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ct_id=10151262

[DeepIron]

So, is there a lot of performance diff between these two? Is the faster one worth the extra $200?

Hmm... the biggest diffs are in the CPU and bus speeds and L2 cache:

The T5750 is 2.0Ghz, 677Mhz bus and 2Gb cache.
The T2390 is 1.86Ghz, 533Mhz bus and 1Gb cache.

I'm using a T2390 in my Vaio and I'm completely happy with the performance. Seeing as you're not going to play graphics intensive games (Half-Life, Crysis, etc) due to the limitations of the X3100 video chip set, or doing any really intensive number crunching as in photo-processing, the extra $200 for the T5750 isn't going to show much performance improvement IMO.

Bottom line: I'd get the Inspiron with the T2390 (Walmart) and spend the $200 on something else...

[longam]

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 has the solid state drive...cool!

http://www.dell.com/content/products...=04&l=en&s=bsd

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by DeepIron

Hmm... the biggest diffs are in the CPU and bus speeds and L2 cache:

The T5750 is 2.0Ghz, 677Mhz bus and 2Gb cache.
The T2390 is 1.86Ghz, 533Mhz bus and 1Gb cache.

I'm using a T2390 in my Vaio and I'm completely happy with the performance. Seeing as you're not going to play graphics intensive games (Half-Life, Crysis, etc) due to the limitations of the X3100 video chip set, or doing any really intensive number crunching as in photo-processing, the extra $200 for the T5750 isn't going to show much performance improvement IMO.

Bottom line: I'd get the Inspiron with the T2390 (Walmart) and spend the $200 on something else...

Done, thanks!